


The Snuggling Ring

by LourdesDeath



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Childhood misunderstandings, Comfort No Hurt, Cuddles, Domestic Fluff, Family, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-08
Updated: 2017-07-08
Packaged: 2018-11-29 14:42:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11443014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LourdesDeath/pseuds/LourdesDeath
Summary: “Daddy said Mommy got involved with a snuggling ring,” Modesty says when the niffler has finished his dinner and is curled up in her lap for some tummy rubs. “Maybe he’s upset that Mommy’s been getting all his snuggles away from home. I like getting snuggles, and I’d be sad if I got left out.”





	The Snuggling Ring

**Author's Note:**

  * For [flightinflame](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Mr. Graves](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11156028) by [flightinflame](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame). 



> I had a conversation with Flightinflame in which she accidentally typed 'snuggling ring' instead of 'smuggling ring'. This fic is the result.

“I can’t believe you got involved with another one!” Daddy says behind the door.

“They had three griffin chicks!” Mommy replies.

They’re talking quietly, but Modesty can hear them well enough from where she’s lying on the floor.

Modesty stifles a giggle when Pickett picks up one of her toy mooncalves and wiggles it around in the air. She holds her stuffed nundu up and whispers, “Roar!” before walking it up to the fake mooncalf and letting it gently nuzzle the smaller toy.

“All I ask is that you be more careful,” Daddy says, and starts moving.

Modesty listens to his footsteps. They aren’t getting closer to the door, so she doesn’t have to hide just yet.

“I need you, Newt. If something happened to you—”

“I survived on my own for years without getting hurt—” Mommy interrupts, but Daddy just keeps on talking.

“I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.”

There’s a pause, during which Pickett adds a furry silver ball—Modesty’s demiguise toy—to the pile of cuddling toys.

“I worked for years without getting hurt, Newt. I survived a _war_. But it only takes one mistake for everything to fall apart. Grindelwald—”

“I know.” Mommy sighs. “I know. I’m sorry, Percival. I’ll do what I can to stay safe in the future.”

“That’s all I ask.”

The footsteps start up again and Modesty gathers up her toys and lets Pickett climb onto her shoulder. She closes her eyes and concentrates until her whole body feels light with her magic. Modesty knows she’s not _really_ supposed to use her Obscurus, especially when it’s to hide from her parents, but she’s not doing anything _wrong_.

Modesty flies up to her bedroom where she and Pickett can resume their game, but her mind gets stuck on Daddy and Mommy’s argument. Daddy was clearly worried, but Mommy can’t help having to save creatures. Credence says it’s what God put Mommy on earth to do.

“What would help Mommy and Daddy feel better?” she asks Pickett.

Pickett chirps and holds up the mooncalf again.

Modesty jumps when someone knocks on her door.

“Modesty?” Credence calls from outside.

“Come in!” she says.

The door opens slowly, revealing Credence’s thin form.

Modesty smiles at him. Sometimes, he has a hard time remembering that they aren’t with Ma anymore, and that Mommy and Daddy are their parents. She and Chastity do their best to help him, as do Daddy and Mommy. It makes Modesty happy when Credence doesn’t get scared by doing things Ma didn’t like, even though he usually loses control of his Obscurus when he does. Mommy says it’s the Obscurus trying to keep him safe, but Credence doesn’t like it when that happens. Modesty feels bad that his Obscurus isn’t nice like hers is.

Credence closes the door behind himself, glancing at it nervously before turning back to her.

“What were you doing in the hallway?” he asks quietly.

“I was playing with Pickett.”

Credence’s lips twist a little. “You know I wasn’t talking about that, Modesty,” he says, his voice hardly above a whisper. “I mean… with your Obscurus.”

“It’s fine,” Modesty says.

“You know that Newt and Percival don’t like you using it.”

Modesty pouts at him. “ _Mommy and Daddy_ ,” she corrects, “said it’s okay if I’m at home.”

He wrings his hands, but doesn’t argue with her anymore. His dark eyes latch onto the toys scattered on her bed. Pickett has stacked her dolls in a tower and chirps at them in triumph.

Credence smiles at the bowtruckle. “Dinner’s going to be ready in a few minutes, so go and get washed up.”

Modesty nods as he leaves the room again, the hunch in his back from her use of the Obscurus eased.

“We’ll figure something out,” Modesty tells Pickett as she picks him back up to get ready for dinner.

Mommy doesn’t talk much while they eat. It’s worrying when he doesn’t talk. Usually, Mommy is full of information, telling them about creatures or his adventures from before he came to New York or how everyone in the case is doing.

Daddy is distracted too, and asks Chastity how her baking classes with Mister Kowalski are going twice, which makes Credence seem to shrink in his chair.

When everyone’s finished eating, Daddy waves his hands and the dishes float to the kitchen to wash themselves.

Mommy leads them all to the living room and opens his case up, catching the niffler when it tries to escape.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Mommy scolds, and hands the niffler to Modesty.

The niffler is always a little more content when he’s being cuddled by her, so Modesty holds him firmly to her chest as she walks down the ladder into Mommy’s case.

Everyone has a job in the case, looking after a certain group of creatures. Daddy feeds the nundu and smiles when she perches her front paws on his shoulder and licks his hair. Mommy goes to the graphorn enclosure and checks on the new calf. Credence sits on the dark cliff where the mooncalves stay and feeds them their floating pellets. Modesty and Chastity walk towards the niffler’s mound together, but break apart when they reach the occamy nest. Chastity didn’t always like the bugs they eat, but she likes the occamies more than she doesn’t like the bugs. She’s always a little more comfortable feeding the bowtruckles their pill bugs, singing the name of each bowtruckle as she feeds them.

Modesty takes the niffler back to his mound and pulls out the silver bowl he gets fed out of. She walks back to Mommy’s shed and picks out a variety of berries, before picking a few of the dandelions that grow in the mooncalves’ enclosure to make the food look prettier. She giggles when the niffler purrs at the sight of his food.

Dougal’s nest is swinging when she comes over, and the demiguise appears when Modesty pulls out an apple for him. His eyes flash blue just before she tosses it gently into the air, and he catches it easily before climbing down to the ground.

Modesty holds out her hand and they walk back over to the niffler’s mound. She’s not quite big enough to carry Dougal yet, which makes her sad since everyone else can, but Dougal doesn’t seem to mind.

The niffler chirps at them when they get there and drops the dandelion that had been sticking out of his mouth. Modesty reaches into his mound and scratches his head. The niffler arches his back for better scratches.

“Mommy and Daddy seem sad,” she says quietly. “But I’m not sure how to help them.”

Modesty doesn’t mean to stop petting the niffler, but she realizes her hand has gone still when the niffler squeaks and bumps his head against her palm.

Giggling, Modesty pets him some more.

“There’s got to be something that makes everyone happy.”

Dougal reaches into the niffler’s mound and runs his fingers through the niffler’s fur, then looks at her.

Modesty gasps. “You’re right! That’s a great idea, Dougal!”

She starts to work on a plan.

“Daddy said Mommy got involved with a snuggling ring,” she says when the niffler has finished his dinner and is curled up in her lap for some tummy rubs. “Maybe he’s upset that Mommy’s been getting all his snuggles away from home. I like getting snuggles, and I’d be sad if I got left out.”

Pickett nods.

Modesty looks out at the case. Mommy is still with the graphorns, and his shirt is wet from them saying hello. Daddy and Chastity are talking near the erumpet enclosure, and she can see a dark shape on the mooncalves’ hill that looks like Credence.

“Everyone’s still here,” she says. “So at least we don’t have to find people. Mommy said snuggling rings are always on the lookout for creatures, but we know where all the creatures are.”

Dougal grabs a second apple from his nest and crunches his way through it as he listens to her.

“If we have the snuggling ring soon, we won’t have to make a distraction or anything. But we have to get everyone close enough for it.”

Humming, Modesty looks at the niffler. “You could get everyone’s attention, but everyone’s been feeling a bit sad today. I don’t want to worry anyone.”

She looks up again. Mummy is cleaning off his shirt with a spell, glancing over at Chastity and Daddy. He looks sad, and that makes Modesty think even harder.

“Dougal, can you go and get Credence over to where Mommy and Daddy and Chastity are?”

Dougal nods and vanishes.

“And I’ll make sure no one leaves.”

Modesty stands up and brushes off the dust from her dress. She knows Daddy won’t get angry at her for being dirty the way Ma used to, but she likes the clothes he’s given her.

She walks over to where Mommy is putting his waistcoat back on.

 “Hello, Modesty,” Mommy replies.

“Hi, Mommy! How’s the baby graphorn doing?”

“She’s doing very well,” he answers. “I’m sure she’ll grow up to be big and strong, just like her older brother.”

“You do a good job of taking care of her.”

Mommy smiles a little. “Well, her parents do most of the work. I just give them somewhere safe to live.”

“I think you help a lot,” Modesty insists. “And you help all the other creatures. And me and Credence and Chastity, too!”

“I’m glad to know that,” Mommy says. He bends down and hugs Modesty.

She panics for a moment, afraid that the snuggling ring won’t work if she’s just gotten a hug from Mommy, but Mommy feels her tensing up and starts to pull away and Modesty can’t not hug him really hard when he does that. Daddy says that sometimes Mommy has a hard time with people, and she can’t let him think that she doesn’t love him.

Mommy’s arms tighten around her when Modesty hugs him, and he rubs a hand over her back.

When Modesty lets go of Mommy, Credence is walking over, carrying Dougal.

Daddy and Chastity are close by, too, and Modesty knows this is her chance.

She grabs Mommy and Credence’s hands and pulls them over to Daddy and Chastity.

“Modesty, what are you—” Mommy asks.

“It’s important,” Modesty replies, all but dragging them behind her.

Daddy looks confused when they get close. “Is something wrong?”

“I want to help you and Mommy,” she tells him.

He raises his eyebrows, still not understanding.

Well, that’s okay. Mommy’s the one who gets involved with snuggling rings. Daddy’s probably never been in one before.

“Everyone has to hug,” Modesty explains. “And then we’ll all feel better.”

Daddy looks past her towards Mommy, and his eyes go soft the way they always do when he’s really tired from work and he sees Mommy at home.

“That sounds like a good idea,” Daddy says. “Doesn’t it, Newt?”

“Yes,” Mommy replies. “I think I’d like that very much.”

Daddy throws an arm around Chastity’s shoulders as they walk closer to Mommy and Credence.

Modesty thinks she can forgive them for not hugging in a proper ring, since Mommy’s the only one who knows about _proper_ snuggling rings, but she stands between Credence and Chastity and can feel Daddy and Mommy at the tips of her fingers as she hugs her siblings as tight as she can.

**Author's Note:**

> [Find me on tumblr!](lourdesdeath.tumblr.com)


End file.
